Angela Gonzales-Torres is running for Congress in a year when many progressive candidates are avoiding the socialist label to appeal to moderate voters. In Michigan, Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed has said he is "not technically or practically DSA." Gonzales-Torres, who is backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, has not distanced herself from it. The 31-year-old has been called "far left" by Fox News and by members of her own party in California.
She told Newsweek she understands why, adding that she won't spend her time fighting it. "Fox News will call me that, and that's one thing, but also California Democrats will say it's far left to not take corporate PAC money," Gonzales-Torres said in an interview. "I just don't understand that, but…that's not my fight." She is challenging California Representative Jimmy Gomez, a Democrat seeking his sixth term, in the state's 34th Congressional District in Los Angeles.
The safely Democratic seat includes Boyle Heights, Chinatown, downtown, Eagle Rock, Little Tokyo and Pico-Union. Under California's top-two primary system, both Democrats advanced to the November 3 ballot. If Gonzales-Torres wins, she would join a group of democratic socialists headed to the House after DSA-backed challengers defeated Democratic incumbents in New York and Colorado this year.
She is already thinking about how that group would use its votes. "We're organizers," Gonzales-Torres said. "I'm so proud to already be thinking about our bargaining power." Gomez won nearly 46 percent of the vote in the June primary, more than 15 points ahead of Gonzales-Torres.
In August, the House Ethics Committee announced it was investigating him over allegations of "inappropriate sexual contact with a House staffer." Lawyers for a woman the committee interviewed later said she had accused him of sexual harassment and assault. Gomez has acknowledged "personal mistakes outside my marriage" and says his actions were consensual and did not break the law or House rules. A USC Democracy and Fair Elections Lab poll released Tuesday, the first independent survey of the race, found the two tied at 34 percent among likely voters.
When undecided voters were asked which way they leaned, Gonzales-Torres led within the margin of error. Voters asked what they associated with Gomez most often mentioned the ethics allegations, according to Politico, which first reported the poll. "People are excited to vote for an advocate for justice, not someone under investigation for ethics violations, you know?" The Gomez campaign questioned the survey’s method.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
